Aardappelmeelfabriek, Former potato starch factory in Aa en Hunze, Netherlands
The Aardappelmeelfabriek is an industrial complex with multiple buildings designed for processing potatoes in Gasselternijveen. The structures display functional design combined with typical features of early 20th-century Dutch industrial architecture.
The factory was founded in 1902 as a cooperative operation for processing potato flour and shaped local industrial growth. Major expansions during the decades after World War II brought architectural changes as the facility grew to meet demand.
The factory reflects how farming communities depended on industrial processing for their crops. Walking through the complex shows how work and daily life in the area once centered around this operation.
The complex sits at Baptistenkade 40 in Gasselternijveen and is straightforward to locate. As a protected monument, parts of the site are open to visitors, though you should confirm accessibility before planning a visit.
The site bears the design influence of two separate architectural firms: the Blaauw brothers from Stadskanaal and architects J. and J.K. Kruijer from Nieuwe Pekela. This collaboration of regional designers is still visible in how the buildings are arranged and built.
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